''Gigantic'' is an American literary journal that publishes fiction, art and interviews. In particular, it focuses on short prose or

flash fiction Flash fiction is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as "twitterature"); ...

. Print issues also have included a special

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

section entitled "The Seizure State," curated by celebrated American poet Joe Wenderoth. It publishes original work online at its website and once a year in a print format. ''Gigantic'' was founded in 2008 by four writers living in New York City.

Format

''Gigantic'' is known for changing its layout and design significantly with each issue, as well as a focus on affordable pricing. Issues have ranged in price from 3 to 10 dollars. The layout is designed by Erin Grey West.

Issue 1

The first issue was printed on newsprint in a large fold-out format. It included a centerfold painting by Nathaniel Russell as well as work and dialogues with

Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published seven books: '' The Tipping Point: How Little ...

Shane Jones Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

, Ed Park,

Tao Lin Tao Lin (; born July 2, 1983) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, short-story writer, and artist. He has published four novels, a novella, two books of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a memoir, as well as an extensive assortment of ...

Deb Olin Unferth Deb Olin Unferth (born November 19, 1968) is an American short story writer, novelist, and memoirist. She is the author of the collection of stories ''Minor Robberies'', the novel ''Vacation'', both published by ''McSweeney's'', and the memoir, ...

Gary Shteyngart Gary Shteyngart (; born July 5, 1972) is a Soviet-born American writer. He is the author of five novels (including ''Absurdistan'' and '' Super Sad True Love Story'') and a memoir. Much of his work is satirical. Early life Born Igor Semyonovich ...

and others.

Issue 2

Issue 2 was titled "Gigantic America" and focused on themes of

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

. The magazine was printed in a bound elongated format and included a series of limited edition trading cards designed by Andre Da Loba backed with writing by

, Joe Wenderoth,

Clancy Martin Clancy Martin (born May 7, 1967) is a Canadian philosopher, novelist, and essayist. His interests focuses on 19th century philosophy, existentialism, moral psychology, philosophy and literature, ethics & behavioral health, applied and profession ...

, Margo Jefferson, and others. Other writers in the issue included Blake Butler,

Robert Coover Robert Lowell Coover (born February 4, 1932) is an American novelist, short story writer, and T.B. Stowell Professor Emeritus in Literary Arts at Brown University. He is generally considered a writer of fabulation and metafiction. Background ...

Lydia Millet Lydia Millet (born December 5, 1968) is an American novelist. Her 2020 novel '' A Children's Bible'', was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and named one of the ten best books of the year by the ''New York Times Book Review''. S ...

Sam Lipsyte Sam Lipsyte (born 1968) is an American novelist and short story writer. Life The son of the sports journalist Robert Lipsyte, Sam Lipsyte was born in New York City and raised in Closter, New Jersey, where he attended Northern Valley Regional Hi ...

, and comic artist

Adrian Tomine Adrian Tomine (; born May 31, 1974) is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ongoing comic book series ''Optic Nerve'' and his illustrations in '' The New Yorker''. Early life Adrian Tomine was born May 31, 1974, in Sacramento, Cal ...

Issue 3

Issue 3 was titled "Gigantic Indoors." The magazine was printed in the magazine's largest format yet and featured work from David Berman, Diane Williams, Joshua Cohen, and many others. Also included are dialogues with

Gordon Lish Gordon Lish (born February 11, 1934 in Hewlett, New York) is an American writer. As a literary editor, he championed many American authors, particularly Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah, Amy Hempel, Rick Bass, and Richard Ford. He is the father of t ...

and

Lynne Tillman Lynne Tillman (born January 1, 1947) is a novelist, short story writer, and cultural critic. She is currently Professor/Writer-in-Residence in the Department of English at the University at Albany and teaches at the School of Visual Arts' Art Cri ...

Issue 4

Issue 4 was titled "Gigantic Everything." The magazine was printed in a hand-constructed, accordion-fold format and included fiction from Robert Walser,

Etgar Keret Etgar Keret ( he, אתגר קרת, born August 20, 1967) is an Israeli writer known for his short stories, graphic novels, and scriptwriting for film and television. Personal life Keret was born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1967. He is a third child ...

, and Tony Duvert, as well as dialogues with

Lydia Davis Lydia Davis (born July 15, 1947) is an American short story writer, novelist, essayist, and translator from French and other languages, who often writes short (one or two pages long) short stories. Davis has produced several new translations of ...

Julie Hecht Julie Hecht is a contemporary American fiction writer specializing in interlacing short stories. Personal life Hecht has purposely revealed very little about her personal life. According to her publisher's website, she lives in the winter on the e ...

, and

, among others.

Issue 5

Issue 5 was titled "Gigantic Talk." The magazine featured a special call-in phone element and included work from

, Gary Indiana, David Ohle, and Sparrow. Also included are dialogues with Brian Christian and Travis Millard and Mel Kadel.

Issue 6

Issue 6 was titled "Gigantic Ha-Ha." The magazine featured new and newly translated work by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

Roz Chast Rosalind Chast (born November 26, 1954) is an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for ''The New Yorker''. Since 1978, she has published more than 800 cartoons in ''The New Yorker''. She also publishes cartoons in ''Scientific American'' and ...

, Jincy Willett, Amelia Gray,

James Hannaham James Hannaham (born 1968) is a writer, performer, and visual artist. His novel ''Delicious Foods'' (2015), which deals with human trafficking, won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and was named one of ''Publishers Weekl ...

, and Osama Alomar, along with dialogues with

Gabrielle Bell Gabrielle Bell (born March 24, 1976 in London, England) is a British-American alternative cartoonist known for her surrealist, melancholy semi-autobiographical stories. Early life When Bell was two, her American mother divorced her British fath ...

and J. Robert Lennon.

Gigantic Books

In 2015, Gigantic published its first book
''Gigantic Worlds''
The book is an anthology of science flash fiction stories with work from Charles Yu, Catherine Lacey,

Ted Chiang Ted Chiang (born 1967) is an American science fiction writer. His work has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and six Locus awards. His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis of the ...

, and Lynne Tillman.

Website

The website is updated most months with new content. One notable series has been the serialization of a picture-novel by Leni Zumas and Luca Dipierro entitled "Until I Find It."

Notable contributors

''Gigantic'' has featured many notable writers and artists, including: * Robert Walser *

* David Berman *

* Jincy Willett * Joe Wenderoth *

* Sparrow *

* Leni Zumas *Ed Park *Thomas Doyle * Diane Williams *

* Joshua Cohen * Todd Zuniga *

Michael Kimball Michael Kimball (born February 1, 1967) is a novelist from the United States. Life and career Michael Kimball was born February 1, 1967, in Lansing, Michigan. He studied at Michigan State University and New York University, and now lives in Balt ...

References

External links

Gigantic official websiteGigantic Worlds websiteStory by

Story by
Laura van den Berg
An exquisite corpse by
Dan Bevacqua, Anelise Chen, Mitchell S. Jackson, and

Story by

Paul Scheerbart Paul Karl Wilhelm Scheerbart (8 January 1863 in Danzig – 15 October 1915 in Berlin) was a German author of speculative fiction literature and drawings. He was also published under the pseudonym ''Kuno Küfer'' and is best known for the ...

Story by
Joe Mungo Reed
Gigantic interview with

Gigantic interview with

listing in Duotrope

Reviews of ''Gigantic''

Gigantic event review
in ''

Poets & Writers Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Poets & Writers Magazine'', ...

''
Issue 1 review
in NewPages.com
Issue 2 review
at PANK
Gigantic/Opium/Bomb event review
at ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gigantic (magazine) Literary magazines published in the United States Annual magazines published in the United States Magazines published in New York City Magazines established in 2008